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Heritage on the frontline: Community-based tourism, cultural preservation and the geopolitics of sacred sites
WebinarOnline

Heritage on the frontline: Community-based tourism, cultural preservation and the geopolitics of sacred sites

  • 15:00–15:55 UK time55 minutes
  • Online, on Zoom, inside ScholardemiaRegister, then join on this page from 14:45. How to join
  • Julio SaquiChaired by Prof. Eugenia Wickens

This webinar explores how communities can guide tourism at sacred and culturally important places.

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Julio Saqui

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Heritage on the frontline: Community-based tourism, cultural preservation and the geopolitics of sacred sites

WebinarOnlineSession 13 of 30

This webinar explores how communities can guide tourism at sacred and culturally important places.

  • 15:00–15:55 UK time
  • Online, on Zoom, inside Scholardemia · 55 minutesRegister, then join on this page from 14:45. How to join
  • Julio SaquiChaired by Prof. Eugenia Wickens

About this webinar

Speaker update, 2 October 2026: Julio Saqui is confirmed as the industry speaker. The academic speaker will be announced once confirmed.
Sacred places and cultural heritage sites embody religious meaning, collective memory, political identity and continuing relationships with land. Tourism can provide income and international recognition, but it can also generate conflict over access, interpretation, commercial activity and visitor conduct. This webinar examines community authority in the governance of sacred sites. It asks how conservation and tourism can proceed without subordinating living cultural obligations to visitor demand or presenting contested histories as simple and settled narratives.
Panellists will consider how borders, displacement, armed conflict and competing territorial claims affect heritage protection and community access. The discussion will address consent, local economic retention, visitor orientation and the control of images, stories and ceremonies. It will distinguish consultation from genuine authority and examine who can restrict access when cultural or spiritual responsibilities require it. Attention will also be given to the risks faced by communities when increased visibility exposes sensitive places to damage, surveillance or political appropriation.
Participants will gain a framework for evaluating tourism at sacred sites through human dignity, cultural continuity and locally defined values. They will learn to examine governance rights, benefit distribution, safeguarding measures and routes for resolving disputes. The session will also consider how tourism organisations can communicate restrictions clearly and support conservation without claiming ownership of cultural knowledge. Delegates will leave able to assess whether a project strengthens community stewardship or uses heritage primarily as a commercial asset measured by visitor volume. This approach gives cultural responsibility priority over market access and promotional opportunity in every decision.

How to join

This webinar runs on Zoom. You join it here on Scholardemia, where the meeting opens inside the page with the chat, questions and polls beside it. You do not need a Zoom account or a Zoom link.

  1. RegisterFree, with your Scholardemia account.
  2. Come back on the dayThe room opens at 14:45 on Friday 5 February. We email you a reminder with the Join button the day before.
  3. Press JoinSign in with the same account. The meeting opens here, with questions, polls and the group chat beside it.

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Speaker and chair

Julio Saqui

Presenter

Mr

Scholardemia profile

Prof. Eugenia Wickens

Chair

OTS Academy

United Kingdom

Professor Eugenia Wickens edits the Journal On Tourism & Sustainability (JOTS) and the Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education (JTHE), and chairs Scholardemia webinar sessions. Her research covers tourist experience and typologies, tourism routes and rural development, volunteer tourism, and event and cultural tourism. Formerly Reader in Tourism at Buckinghamshire New University, she has helped plan tourism education in Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Serbia, Greece, Ireland and Turkey.

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Organised by Scholardemia.

Committee

Organising Committee

Operational leadership and event delivery team.

Prof. Eugenia Wickens

Chair

OTS Academy

United Kingdom

Professor Eugenia Wickens edits the Journal On Tourism & Sustainability (JOTS) and the Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education (JTHE), and chairs Scholardemia webinar sessions. Her research covers tourist experience and typologies, tourism routes and rural development, volunteer tourism, and event and cultural tourism. Formerly Reader in Tourism at Buckinghamshire New University, she has helped plan tourism education in Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Serbia, Greece, Ireland and Turkey.

Scholardemia profileORCIDGoogle Scholar

Scholardemia

Organizer

Event committee

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Next in this series

All 30 sessions
  1. Fri 12 Feb09:00The economics of well-being: Crafting tourism policies that benefit destinations, residents and the bottom lineSession 14
  2. Fri 19 Feb09:00The certification conundrum: Making responsible tourism marketing and sustainability standards truly effectiveSession 15
  3. Fri 26 Feb09:00Flying towards a greener future: The science, policy and practice of decarbonising aviation in tourismSession 16
  4. Fri 5 Mar09:00The emotional core of travel: Connecting psychology, inclusive marketing and socially responsible tourismSession 17